


Along Came Ollie

by mrsreeder



Category: The Thick of It (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Questioning, Reminiscing, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:07:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29605704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsreeder/pseuds/mrsreeder
Summary: Malcolm and Ollie are reminiscing about the first time they met...and how they fell in love.
Relationships: Ollie Reeder/Malcolm Tucker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely sure if this works, but I always wanted to tell a story in the form of flashbacks, so I just did exactly that :D I had no better idea how to indicate the difference between flashbacks and the present though, so I hope it's clear enough like this.   
> (And I used yet another silly pun for a title... But I thought of this one randomly and kind of wanted to use it, haha.)

It was late on a Sunday morning and Malcolm and Ollie could afford the luxury to sleep in. Well, they had stayed up long into the night and looking at what they had done (and how many times they had done it) it was no wonder that they needed some time to rest. However, Malcolm was already awake by now, silently watching over the sleeping Ollie. He really enjoyed moments like this. Even if he would probably never tell him about this, but Malcolm always felt strangely relaxed in Ollie's company. And right now he wouldn't have minded to stay like this forever. 

But only moments later the spell was broken, as Ollie finally woke up too.  
"Morning, Malc..." He yawned and looked at the alarm clock. "It's already that late? Why didn't you wake me up?"  
"Oh, I wanted some peace and quiet in the morning and I can't have that when you're blabbering all the time."  
"Fine, if you say so!" Ollie laughed. "Well, it's about time for breakfast! I'll do the honours and whip something up, alright?" Ollie was just preparing to get up when Malcolm suddenly said: "You know what? There's an anniversary coming up."  
Ollie turned over and looked at Malcolm curiously. "Huh? An anniversary? Which one would that be?"  
"The day we met, you twat!"  
"Oh, so you kept track of that? That's extremely cute, you know."  
Malcolm sighed. "Fuck off. It was the worst day of my life, that's why I still remember it."  
"You're a bad liar, Malc. Of course you wanted to say 'the best day of my life', right?"  
"Oh, I didn't lie. Should've picked up a stray cat or something instead of you."  
Ollie winked at him. "Oh please, you definitely need me for some things you couldn't do with a cat and you know that. But anyway, yeah, I love you too!"  
"Did I say anything about loving you, idiot?"  
"You clearly did. In your weird special Malcolm language, but you did."  
Ollie tucked his hands under his head and looked at the ceiling.  
"Well, but now that you said it, you're right. I do remember that day too. It was a special day after all. I still know what my thoughts were on this morning..."

~~~~~~~~

Ollie Reeder was on the way to work. He had to take another Tube line today because this day marked the start of a new chapter in his life: he had scored a job at a state department. And he had just about reached his destination.  
Just as he was about to enter the building in which the Department for Social Affairs was located, his phone rang. Well, he was early anyway, so he could still take the call.  
"Perfect timing, really... Dave? What do you want at this early hour?" One of his mates who was also working at a state department was the caller.  
"Hey Ollie, you're free tonight? Wanna hang out and have a drink?"  
"No, sorry, but today's my first day at the new workplace, so I really got to impress everyone on the first few days - unlike you I've got no time for leisure! Okay, it seems to be a really lame place though. I mean, what does 'social affairs' even mean? No one knows. Well, I'm gonna be the Secretary of State's first adviser in no time now."  
"Dream on, mate. Well, good luck anyway."  
"Thanks. And fuck off for calling me because of this in the morning!"  
"The same to you. Bye!"

He ended the call and finally entered the building. It wasn't like he was nervous, but the first day at a new job was something special. So many opportunities! Even though he really thought that this department was really not all that important, it would do as a first step of his career. And who knows, he might as well meet some people who would play a big role in his later life right here at this workplace....

~~~~~~~~

"And right you were, you met someone who now plays the biggest role in your life, didn't you? But that meeting was different than what you might have expected..."  
Ollie sighed. "Yeah, but that makes me feel indebted to Glenn because he hired me for the job. Can't say I like that..."  
"Would it kill you to show some thankfulness, you ungrateful fuck? And, by the way, did you really think all that? Pretty embarrassing, honestly."  
"Er...yes. I did."  
"You're such a bloody idiot."  
"And you're in love with me, so you're an idiot too."  
"Fuck off."

~~~~~~~~

The first thing he was supposed to do on this morning was report to a man named Glenn Cullen. They had met before at Ollie's former workplace and Glenn had been the one who had recommended him for the job as a junior policy advisor at DoSA. He would also be Ollie's direct superior. For now, he added in his thoughts. Ollie was sure that his policy ideas would impress the Secretary of State more than some old guy's ideas could ever do. The future belonged to him, that much he was sure of. But there was no more time for thoughts of any kind, as he had just found himself standing in front of the right office. He knocked on the door.  
"Come in!" someone said inside the room and so he did.  
"Good morning!"  
"Oh hello, it's you, Mr Reeder! Did you find your way here alright?" Glenn rose from his seat and shook Ollie's hand. Ollie made sure to return the handshake properly - not too firm, but firm enough to assure his opposite he was confident about himself.  
"Yeah, everything was just fine. Thank you, Mr Cullen."  
Being polite for now couldn't hurt either. It wasn't like he was about to be Glenn's subordinate forever, but right now it was better to play it nice.

~~~~~~~~

"Just wonderful, Mr Reeder, just wonderful. This was a textbook example of how to be a slimy opportunist. Well done. Could you stop recounting every single one of your fucking stupid thoughts?"  
"First off, my thoughts aren't stupid. And second, don't interrupt me, I'm about to get to an important part."  
"Then hurry up, you muppet!"  
"Oh really, Malc..."

~~~~~~~~

"I'm happy to hear that. Oh, and first off, we're all on a first name base here, so if that's alright with you...?"  
"Oh, but of course it is! So, my name is Oliver, but you obviously know that already. I'm fine with being called Ollie though."  
"Alright! And my name is Glenn. Well, then...welcome at DoSA, Ollie! I hope you'll like it here."  
"I'm sure I will!" He smiled at Glenn.  
"Well, I guess now it's time for you to meet everyone else, so let's go!"

After showing him around the building and introducing him to the staff (and also the minister, but that was a really short meeting as he was just in the middle of an important phone call) Glenn was just about to show Ollie his work desk when the door opened and a man in a grey suit came in without knocking first. He immediately started talking to Glenn while completely ignoring Ollie.  
"Hey, Glenn, there you are! Did you tell the minister about today's press conference?"  
"Morning, Malcolm. Yeah, I did, he knows that he shouldn't mention that certain issue we talked about."  
"Fine, then. Let's hope he doesn't still find a way to fuck it up. Well, who am I kidding, of course he will fuck up. Also, who's that supposed to be?" Malcolm pointed at Ollie. "I didn't know there was some bring-your-child-to-work campaign day today. Is he your kiddo, Glenn? The one from the special needs school?"  
"No, actually...he's the new guy I told you about a few days ago, Malcolm."  
"You didn't tell me he was some fucking teenager!"  
"Well, he's not...he graduated from university, so he's gotta be in his twenties?"  
Ollie was getting more and more annoyed by this conversation. Not only was this guy who had just stormed into the room unbelievably rude (how could anyone with eyes in their head think he was a teenager going to a special needs school?), there was also the fact that both Glenn and the mystery guy - whose name was apparently Malcolm - totally ignored him, even though he was standing next to them. And he wasn't about to have any of that. Screw keeping a low profile on your first day at work, that wasn't how anyone made an impression anyway. So he just decided to introduce himself instead. He held out his hand in Malcolm's direction.  
"Hello, my name is Oliver Reeder - it's fine to just call me Ollie though - and I started working here today as a special advisor. Nice to meet you, mister....?"  
Malcolm apparently had no intention to exchange handshakes or other pleasantries. He just gave Ollie a long, judging look. A really, really long look...Ollie started to feel uncomfortable already. And then, suddenly...a thought crossed his mind. The guy's name was Malcolm? That did ring a bell after all, but that realization came too late, much to his horror.  
"You're really fucking bad at this head-hunting thing, Glenn. Where did you pick up this guy? Did you find him in an side alley or in a cardboard box with a sign saying 'please adopt me' around his neck? He apparently has no idea about politics if he doesn't even know me..."  
Well, great. Ollie felt like all of his career dreams going up in smoke before he had had any chance to make them come true. Because, as he remembered by now, that guy who was still talking to Glenn about him wasn't some random guy after all. No, that was Malcolm Tucker, the parties' much feared communications director and infamous spin doctor.  
"Er, well, no, of course I do know who you are, but..."  
"But you wanted to test me? Or what were you gonna say?"  
"No, I..."  
"You know what, just shut up. I have a feeling every word from you will only make things worse."  
"...right." This was supposed his big career chance and he hadn't expected to feel this dejected on his first day. Well, fuck. Really.

~~~~~~~~

"That really was funny. You should've seen that fucking stupid look on your face. You were utterly dumbfounded." Malcolm laughed at the memory of that day.  
Ollie sighed. "Not my finest moment, I admit that... But I really forgot for a moment! This could happen to anyone!"  
"Yeah, right, anyone who's a total tit."  
"If you say so..."

~~~~~~~~

Some time had passed since his first work day and by now Ollie was familiar with his assignments. He was still working under Glenn (but just for now - really!), but the Secretary of State had already liked one of his suggested policies. Not long until he would have real influence in the department, that much was clear.

On this day Ollie was just minding his own business and working on something while sitting at his desk when Malcolm entered the room without warning. "Hey! You there, dickhead! Congratulations, you earned a one-on-one session with me!"  
Ollie looked utterly confused. "Uh, what...?"  
"Come on, don't be that fucking dense! I need to talk to you in private."  
"Er, yes..." He got up and checked the offices next door, but there were people everywhere. "Well, there should be no one in the storage room."  
"Fine, come on then."

As they entered the small, cramped room and Malcolm had closed the door behind them, Ollie asked: "So, what is this about, Malcolm?"  
"Oh, you know that very well." Malcolm said in a quite menacing tone and Ollie flinched a bit. "I told you about some of my policy ideas and you snatched one of them. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"  
He came closer and Ollie took a step back until he felt a shelf in his back. Something was off since the moment the door was closed and they were alone in here. There had been a few instances already when Ollie had been alone in a room with Malcolm and he always felt...weird whenever that happened. But today seemed to be of yet another quality.

However, Malcolm was oblivious to Ollie's conundrum. "Listen, son, I'm only gonna say this once. There are things you can do and things you can't...!"  
The situation was stressing Ollie more and more with every passing second. It was weird. There was this angry Scotsman only inches away from his face, apparently shouting at him from the top of his lungs. And yet Ollie didn't feel intimidated, as he probably should, but...well, it was really embarrassing to admit. However, as much as he wanted to deny it...the situation felt really arousing to him. There, he had admitted it, if only to himself. But that had been hard enough.  
"Are you fucking listening? Don't look at me like some prat!"  
"Er, yes, of course I'm listening, why wouldn't I?"  
Of course he hadn't listened to a single word. But just hearing Malcolm's voice was wonderful, even if he was angry... Ollie desperately tried to push this thought far, far away, but to no avail. He never knew Scottish accents made him horny, but apparently they did...no, that was yet another thought he really didn't want to have. God, there were so many things he rather wouldn't want to think of right now. He tried to concentrate on what Malcolm was saying, but of course this didn't help either.  
Then he suddenly noticed something horrifying. Malcolm would kill him if he noticed what was going on with him in this moment. He gulped and shifted his stance so that Malcolm wouldn't get a clearer look at his trousers.  
Damn, this really was a nightmare. How could this have happened?  
"So, to bring this to an end: don't ever try this again, or you're about to be fucked!" And with that (and a last angry look) Malcolm was gone. And Ollie was left to wonder about why his last words didn't seem like a threat to him at all.

~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe it. You were fucking horny back then? Well, I noticed that you weren't listening, but as for the reason..."  
"Could we please not dwell on that?"  
"I think we should, though. Getting off while I was bollocking you, now if that isn't funny."  
"Well, so at least you got a laugh out of it, great!"  
"Oh, trust me, this really is great."

~~~~~~~~

_A few weeks later..._

Ollie leaned over the counter, sipping on his pint and musing about the day's events. He even forgot that he was in a pub with dozens of noisy people all around him - this might have been pretty much everywhere, as far as he was concerned. But he had agreed to come here with some of his mates to get in a better mood. It didn't work, and also the others had disappeared to somewhere. Maybe they were playing a frame of snooker in the pub's back room...not that he cared much.

This really couldn't be, right? He couldn't have started to actually develop feelings for Malcolm of all people. Not only that Malcolm did nothing but insult him everytime they met at work - and being turned on by that would really feel like some weird masochistic kink he didn't want to think about any further. No, there was also the little problem of Malcolm clearly being a man. Even though there had jokes about him being gay in the past, Ollie was pretty sure about not being into men at all. Or rather, he had been sure, until...  
No, don't think about that, he chided himself in his thoughts. He had come here to forget about the issue, and yet it was everything he could think about. 

Oh fuck, this really felt like being in love. But even if he came to terms with apparently having fallen in love with a man - nothing would ever come of it anyway. Malcolm seemed to hate him with every fiber of his being, judging by the creative insults he aimed at Ollie each day. And of course he wasn't gay either. Ollie had discreetly made inquiries at the people working at the department and from that he had learned that Malcolm was only recently divorced. And from a woman, that is. Well, about time to drown his sorrows in alcohol, Ollie thought.

_At the same time, in another part of London..._

Malcolm sighed as he slumped down on the sofa after he had finally come home from work after yet another long day. Just like every day, the house was empty save for himself. There wasn't anyone waiting for him at home...not even a pet, much less another human. He usually didn't care too much and just put all of his energy and time into his work. And since the divorce he had even increased the amount of time he spent at the office.  
Malcolm got up, still lost in thought, and grabbed a glass and the bottle of whisky standing on a small table in one corner of the room. He turned on the TV, but switched off the sound and let his thoughts wander instead of caring about whatever happened on the screen in front of him.  
He should know better than that, and that knowledge made him angry at himself. Just why couldn't he stop thinking of that silly lanky teenager? The guy had been on his thoughts every single day since he met him for the first time. It wasn't that it was a first for him to be attracted by a man, but come on...why that one of all people? That self-absorbed, yet utterly incompetent kiddo? But the thought of silencing that smart-ass know-it-all talk of his by just kissing him again and again became more and more tempting every day.... Ah, there it was again, he thought. That's what has been on his mind every single day, and it was really starting to get annoying. He wasn't one to wallow in pointless feelings like this. Malcolm didn't even know anymore who made him more angry: he himself, or Ollie. Well, he definitely had let out quite a bit of his anger by shouting at the poor, unsuspecting guy. Malcolm chuckled quietely. If only he knew...by now Ollie probably thought that he loathed him more than anyone else at the department, when in fact the opposite was the truth. He raised his glass, like as to toast somebody. "Cheers...to something that will never be."

~~~~~~~~

Ollie frowned. "I wish I knew about how you felt earlier. This would have saved me so much trouble..."  
"Well, life is rarely ever easy."  
"Wow, words of wisdom. I'm impressed, Malc."  
"You better be, twat."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter and we're already done with the story...I enjoyed writing it, but I didn't want to drag things out too long. Well, on the other hand I think things are moving a bit too fast between them near the end of the story, but that was the best I could do, haha.

It was late in the day, and almost everyone else had gone home already. Ollie usually wasn't one to work late hours, but the minister had asked him to finish the final draft for a policy paper. The department wanted to announce the new policy tomorrow so they could beat the opposition to it - Malcolm had found out that they planned something similar (god knows how) and so time was of the essence. Ollie was glad that one of his policy proposals was about to be announced to the public, but...why did the minister had to pick one which was still in an early draft phase? He sighed. Well, no sense in worrying about it too much, the work had to be done after all.

Even though he worked with the utmost concentration, he must have dozed off at some point- because now he jolted awake as something freezing cold suddenly touched his cheek. Startled, he looked around and discovered that Malcolm was standing next to him, poking his face with a can of energy drink.  
"Hi there, sleeping beauty! Did you have a nice dream? Hope you aren't drooling on some important documents. Anyway, that's for you, looks like you need it." He put the can into Ollie's hand.  
"Er, yeah...no, actually not. Hello, Malcolm, and thanks." Ollie opened the can and took a big sip. He really had needed that. But why did Malcolm of all people have to catch him asleep at his desk? So embarrassing.  
"Why are you here, Malcolm? Everyone else went home ages ago. Oh fuck, what time is it?"  
"It's almost 10 p.m. Which is still a normal working time for me, mind you."  
"I'd like to have your work ethic. Or rather not, I might suffer from burnout at the age of thirty."  
"I'm sure you would. Well, but to answer your question, I'm here because of you."  
Ollie's heart almost skipped a beat when he heard those words. But the happiness was a short lived one.  
"Or rather not because of you, but because of the policy paper. I don't trust you to get this done on your own. So I'm here to help giving this paper the finishing touches."  
Oh, but of course. How stupid to get any hopes up, Ollie thought. At least his reaction hadn't given him away, as Malcolm didn't show any visible reaction. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to Ollie, ready to start working.

Everything was just as usual. They were bantering, Malcolm was insulting him...yeah, everything was totally fine. But still... Maybe it was due to the late hour, but Ollie was overly conscious of Malcolm sitting really close to him.  
When Malcolm leaned over to point out some error in the text on the screen, his arm briefly brushed against Ollie's shoulder and he couldn't suppress a little shudder. Of course Malcolm noticed it immediately.  
"What's up with you? Are you cold?"  
"No, don't worry, I'm fine."  
"Alright. Wouldn't want you to get sick. Anyway, about this passage here, you gotta change that to..."  
Ollie couldn't believe what he had just heard. Was Malcolm...worried about him? Nah, couldn't be. He forced himself to concentrate on work again.

Malcolm looked at the profile of Ollie's face as he was busy writing down some of the changes Malcolm had proposed. This really wasn't fair at all. Why was he feeling like a teenage girl in love? There wasn't any explanation for him only being able to think of how much he had liked the look of Ollie's sleeping face. He imagined being able to see this view every single moment...what a nice thought. And he had called him Sleeping Beauty, which had come across like some joke, but now Malcolm regretted not kissing him awake for real. Oh well, this was fucking stupid. This wasn't going to work, he told himself. And thus he pushed the thought to the back of his head.

Ollie came home late that night. But not because something had happened between him and Malcolm. No, the work on the paper just had taken them longer than expected. But of course that wasn't all. He went into his living room and felt utterly confused.  
After sitting down he leaned back and covered his eyes with one hand. It wasn't just the one time in the storage room anymore, today Malcolm's presence had had the same effect on him yet again. There was this undeniable feeling of sheer happiness whenever Malcolm talked to him...and there was the fact that that certain parts of his body had reacted in ways that were entirely new to him in relation with a man.  
So, well, there was just no denying it anymore, it really seemed like he had fallen in love with Malcolm. But he still didn't know what to make of that. There were so many questions on his mind: How? Why? And did that mean he was into men after all? He sighed as he pondered that last question.  
Maybe he was. Well, who knew. He himself didn't anymore, that much was sure.

~~~~~~~~

"And then a certain thing happened, didn't it? This really changed everything."  
"Yeah, and not for the better."  
"I think it's really cute how you just can't be true to your feelings, Malc."  
"Oh, shut it."

~~~~~~~~

Ollie came running down the hallway leading to the lifts when he saw that the doors of one lift were still open.  
"Wait, I want in too!"  
Of course Malcolm ignored his call, but Ollie managed to get into the lift in the last moment before the doors closed. And then they were standing next to each other in awkward silence. Or rather, it felt awkward to Ollie - Malcolm was busy looking at some papers from a folder he held in his hand. He didn't notice anything. Ollie sighed inwardly.

Then suddenly, the lift jolted and came to a halt moments later. And if that wasn't enough, the lights flickered until everything went completely dark.  
"What the fuck?!" Malcolm's angry voice rang through the darkness.  
"Agh! You screamed right into my ear, damn it!" protested Ollie.  
"Shut up, twat..." Ollie heard Malcolm fumble around somewhere, then a small light suddenly permeated the blackness. The source of the light was Malcolm's phone which he was holding up. A good idea, Ollie thought, and so he quickly did the same.  
"What happened? Are we stuck?" he asked.  
"That has to be the dumbest question I ever heard in any situation. Yes, we are stuck, and you are fucking Einstein!"  
"No need to snap at me, okay? Well, that seems like a blackout..." He tried pressing some of the lift's buttons, but nothing happened.  
"Yet another fucking great observation from you."  
Ollie sighed. "What's up with you? You're never exactly a ray of sunshine, but you're in an especially foul mood today, aren't you?"  
"Would you be happy if you're locked in a small space in total darkness with a fucking twat?"  
"Well, that's just the situation I'm in, so..."  
"Watch your words, mate, or they'll find only one survivor when they get us out of here..."  
This seemed to shut Ollie up - for now. Malcolm sighed inwardly. This was really bad. Being alone in a closed space with Ollie...how was he supposed to deal with that? The only thing he could think of were insults. Lots and lots of them...but now the twat was already getting suspicious. And then he started to speak again.  
"I think this is a good opportunity to talk to you about something as you can't run away right now." He cleared his throat. "Well, I...I wanted to ask you why you seem to despise me so much. I mean, it's not like I ever did something to you."  
If only you knew, Malcolm thought. You did something to me alright...and you don't even know it.  
Meanwhile Ollie continued talking. "That's really...well, I don't care too much, but it is kind of hurtful, you know. I mean, you are always angry, I know that. But you can't deny that most of your verbal abuse is aimed at me."  
Malcolm said nothing and just wished he would stop blathering on and on.  
"Anyway...could you please tell me why you hate me so much?"  
Couldn't the silly ass just shut up? Malcolm tried his best to ignore it, even though that grew harder by the second.  
"Hey? Malcolm? Are you listening?" Now Ollie moved himself in Malcolm's field of view and gave him a questioning look. "Are you giving me the silent treatment now? Is that it?"  
Okay, fine, that was enough. He had it coming for a while now and Malcolm couldn't keep to himself anymore. He grabbed the front of Ollie's jacket with his free hand and forced him against the wall.  
"I can't stand it anymore! Shut the fuck up with your fucking questions! You know nothing... Having to look at you every day and you being utterly clueless while I'm having those...feelings all the time! You know what? Fuck it all!"  
Ollie noticed how Malcolm almost spat out the word 'feelings'. What did he mean by that? Feelings of which kind? He couldn't really...  
That's how far Ollie came in his musings before he got interrupted by something utterly unexpected: a kiss. Malcolm had suddenly pulled him in and planted his lips on Ollie's mouth. Ollie tried to resist for maybe two seconds until he just let it go. It was futile...this was exactly what he had dreamed of on most days (and nights) in the last few months, after all. And so he didn't only stop resisting, he also reciprocated the kiss.

A bystander would have noticed that the lift suddenly went a lot darker because Ollie had dropped his phone out of sheer surprise. But they were alone in there and neither of them did really care. Other matters were more important at the moment.

They didn't know how much time had really passed, as it felt like a single short moment yet also like an eternity at the same time. But at some point Malcolm suddenly seemed to notice what he had done and he pushed Ollie away from him. However, he kept his grip on Ollie's jacket and stared intently into his eyes.  
"I should've known it, you were gay after all! I'm such an idiot..."  
Ollie was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that to be Malcolm's first words after what just happened. It had been Malcolm who had taken the initiative after all, not him.  
"Well, you're wrong, I'm most definitely not gay!"  
"Oh, so you weren't shoving your tongue down my throat just moments ago?"  
"But...but...I had relationships with women before, you know!"  
Malcolm snorted. "As if that doesn't mean anything! Maybe you're bi, for all I care!"  
"Yeah, well, maybe I am! What about you, huh?"  
"Figure out your own sexuality before you're questioning other people, you ass!"  
Ollie frowned. "I wish that were as easy as you're making it sound...," he said helplessly.

After a while of strained silence, Malcolm finally sat down on the lift's floor.  
"What are you doing?"  
"Well, no sense in standing around the entire time, isn't there?"  
"Guess you're right..." Ollie dropped down next to him. "It's not like things are less awkward that way."

Malcolm was silent again and Ollie searched for the right words until he finally asked him: "But I heard you had a wife before, what about that?"  
"Well, yeah. Why not? Doesn't mean I can't have some interest in men too, right? Also, that's fucking rich, coming from the guy whose argument against him being gay was having previous relationships with women."  
"Well, I'm...I just don't know. It's just, I never cared about men, until I met you and...oh, just fuck it."  
Malcolm looked at him thoughtfully. "Sounds like it wasn't just the kiss confusing you."  
Ollie exhaled slowly. "No, it really wasn't... Fine, I'll admit it. I felt really weird around you for a while now. It was almost like...I fell in love with you." He lowered his head and held it in his hands. "And that obviously couldn't be true. Or so I told myself. But it didn't go away. Damn it, Malcolm, you don't even know how fucking hard it was for me to act normally around you all the time!"  
"If it's any consolation, you weren't the only one you felt like that. Whiny little fucker, always thinking about yourself..."  
Now Ollie looked at Malcolm curiously. "And by that, you mean...?"  
"Well, let me put this into plain words: I had to act normally around you too, when all I really wanted to do was drag you into the next quiet room and fuck you until you begged me to stop. But I couldn't really do that, so I had to pretend everything was just as usual. Did that answer satisfy you?"  
"....yeah, thanks." Ollie looked a bit shocked, as Malcolm noticed. But it didn't seem like that confession disgusted him or anything. Interesting.  
Ollie thought about this for a bit. "Was that why you always seemed to be especially angry at me? Because you actually wanted to...er, fuck me?"  
"Damn, you're a genius. Right."  
"Oh. Well...good to know."

They sat next to each other in silence and darkness until Malcolm suddenly started speaking again. "Want to try it again? It's not like there is something else we can do right now."  
"Eh, try what again?"  
"Kissing, you fucking dumbass."  
Ollie hesitated for a moment, then he nodded slowly. "Well, if it's alright with you..."  
"I wouldn't have asked if I weren't alright with it."  
Malcolm leaned over, placed one of his hands on the back of Ollie's neck and looked closely at his face.  
"W-what are you...?"  
"I still don't get it. You're not that special, so why did I fall in love with you? Well, you've got a cute face, but is that enough to fall for someone, I wonder..."  
Ollie felt himself blush at Malcolm's words. He wondered if that was because of the part about Malcolm being in love with him or the part about him having a cute face. Probably both, but the first fact made him happier than he could have ever imagined.  
"I'm...I'm wondering about that too, really..."  
Malcolm chuckled. "Well, it's probably not the cute face in my case."  
Before Ollie could make any response to this, they were already entangled in a kiss again. This one must have lasted even longer than the first...but they didn't care about the time anyway.

Malcolm straightened his tie.  
"Well then, now I'm gonna do something really fucking stupid.  
Since you apparently snooped around my private life you probably know that I'm free at the moment....what about you?"  
"Er...yes, me too...?" Ollie seemed confused about the reason for this question.  
"So...wanna try it then? To prevent you from asking dumb questions again: I'm talking about having a relationship."  
"I really have no idea. It would be difficult... And like I told you, I have no experiences with men..."  
"There's a first time for everything, you know."  
"Right, but..."  
"Well, and I can teach you." Malcolm said with a crooked smile.  
"Thanks..." Ollie smiled back and seemed to give the matter some thought. When he didn't say anything for a few minutes, Malcolm took the initiative again.  
"You think you are in love with me, don't you? And it's the same for me, so...why not try it?"  
Ollie hesitated before he came to a decision.  
"Yeah, it's... It's probably entirely unreasonable, but I'm really tempted to say yes."  
"Then just do that."  
Ollie looked at him. "You're right. Yes...let's try this, Malcolm. It's not like we could go on like we did before after this."  
"Good decision, twatweazle."  
"Hey, why are you still calling me that when I'm now basically your...your, er, boyfriend?" It felt weird to say that out loud, Ollie thought.  
Malcolm laughed softly. "Don't think everything has changed between us just because of today. Gotta keep up appearances, right?"  
Ollie agreed with that. "Yeah, got it. And for you, swearing must be like a love language anyway, right?"  
"Right, you fucking twit."

When the power finally came back and they could leave the lift it was like everything had changed. Before Ollie had mulled over his feelings for such a long time. Feelings he had thought of as utterly fruitless anyway. And now, due to sheer coincidence, he had learned that weren't the case after all. Well, he wasn't sure if things would work out with Malcolm and him. And he still wondered what all of that meant for himself. But for now, he didn't care. Right now, he only knew one thing: that he was pretty happy.

~~~~~~~~

"And it did work out after all. Can't believe this was already five years ago. I wonder how I managed to tolerate being with you for this long."  
Ollie grinned. "Love is a mysterious power, Malc!"  
"Oh, shut up. I don't want to hear this from someone whose reaction to our first kiss was to scream 'I'm not gay!'."  
"Well, I said that because it's true, you know."  
"Maybe your mum believes this obvious lie, but I definitely don't."  
"Sounds like you're an expert on this matter, so I'll just pretend to agree with you! Well, but now it's really time for breakfast."  
He started to get up, but halfway through he turned around and gave Malcolm a quick kiss.  
"I never really found an opportunity to tell you something before: I enjoyed the last five years with you a lot. Thanks, Malc! And I hope there's more still to come. Love you."  
"Now that was pretty awkward, but that's just how you are, I guess."  
"You telling me that I'm awkward is the pot calling the kettle black, you know. Anyway, I stand by what I said!"  
With that he quickly left the room. Malcolm looked after him and a smile lingered on his face.  
"Yeah, well, for some reason...I love you too, silly twat."


End file.
